Players to watch in spring: No. 2

February, 13, 2014 Feb 13 9:00 AM ET COLUMBUS, Ohio — The offseason conditioning program is in full swing. Signing day has come and gone. Blink and spring practice will already be here. + EnlargeZach Bolinger/Icon SMIThe Buckeyes need safety Vonn Bell to be a game-changer in 2014.Ohio State is less than a month away from getting back on the field and starting preparations for the 2014 season, and those days probably can’t go by fast enough for a program coming off consecutive losses after a 24-game winning streak. To help pass the time, we’re counting down the top five players who are facing critical springs, either because it’s a turning point in their careers or the Buckeyes are counting heavily on them to fill vacant jobs as they try to get back in contention for a national title again in the fall. The series flips to the defensive side of the ball today at a spot that will be critical in the secondary. No. 2: Vonn Bell, safety

By the numbers: The debut season for the defensive back was largely spent on special teams as he chipped in 19 tackles, but he ended the season on a high note by earning the start in the Discover Orange Bowl and nabbing his first career interception.

What’s at stake: The Buckeyes had all kinds of problems defending the pass a year ago, and that was with a group of experienced veterans who were supposed to make the secondary a team strength. Now they have to replace safeties Christian Bryant, C.J. Barnett and Corey “Pittsburgh” Brown, not to mention cornerback Bradley Roby, and it will be up to a couple of classes stocked with some of the most sought-after recruits in the country at the position to prove the Buckeyes are in good hands moving forward and capable of exceeding the low standard that was set last season. The buzz around Bell that started with his signing-day decision to join Ohio State a year ago has only become louder with his performance in the loss to Clemson, and the defense desperately needs him to be a game-changer in the secondary.

Best-case scenario: There’s no question Bell will be lining up with the first team when camp opens in March, and there’s not much doubt that he’ll be staying in that spot for a while. New co-defensive coordinator and secondary coach Chris Ash was brought in to mold the Buckeyes into a more aggressive outfit, and that figures to be well-suited to Bell’s athletic ability given both his reputation and the glimpse of his talents at the end of last season. Ohio State will also be monitoring the partnership with the other expected starter at safety, and developing chemistry between Tyvis Powell and Bell in the spring could go a long way toward repairing the beleaguered defense in the fall.

Covers Ohio State and the Big Ten.Joined ESPN in 2012.Attended the University of Wyoming.